Global shares rise despite escalating US-China trade row

Tokyo, Jul 9 (AP) - Global shares were mostly higher Monday after a weekend of relative quiet in the escalat-ing trade standoff between the U.S. and China. Investors appear optimistic about the outlook for the global economy despite punitive tariffs imposed by Washington and Beijing on each other's exports.KEEPING SCORE: France's CAC 40 edged up 0.6 percent in early trading to 5,409.31, while Germany's DAX added 0.3 percent to 12,531.46. Britain's FTSE 100 was also higher at 7,647.18, up 0.4 percent. U.S. shares were also set for gains, with Dow futures up 0.5 percent to 24,588. S&P 500 futures rose 0.4 percent to 2,773.40.XIAOMI'S DEBUT: Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp.'s shares slipped and then rebounded Monday in its trading debut in Hong Kong following a multibillion-dollar initial public offering. Trading opened at 16.60 Hong Kong dollars, below Xiaomi's offering price of 17 Hong Kong dollars. It fell about 4 percent in early trading but ended higher at 16.80 Hong Kong dollars ($1.98).TRADE WAR: There were few developments over the weekend after Washington put a 25 percent tax on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports Friday and Beijing retaliated with taxes on an equal amount of U.S. products, including soybeans, pork and electric cars. The full impact of the measures may not be felt for some time, and there was little immediate reaction from investors who have known for weeks that the tariffs were due to take effect.THE QUOTE: "The absence of further escalation as of yet offers Asian equity markets a further reprieve with upsides expected at the start of the week, though one would reckon the playoffs for the rest of the week remain dependent on the developments of the U.S.-China trade tensions," said Jingyi Pan, a market strategist at IG in Singapore.ASIA'S DAY: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 added 1.2 percent to finish at 22,052.18. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.2 percent to 6,286.00, while South Korea's Kospi gained 0.6 percent to 2,285.80. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.3 percent to 28,688.50, while the Shanghai Composite index jumped 2.5 percent to 2,815.11. Shares were higher in Taiwan and Southeast Asia.ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude slipped 28 cents to $73.52 a barrel. It gained 86 cents to settle at $73.80 per barrel in New York late Friday. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 43 cents to $77.54 per bar-rel.CURRENCIES: The dollar fell slightly to 110.51 yen from 110.61 yen late Friday in Asia. The euro strength-ened to $1.1754 from $1.1746.